Female suicide bomber strikes in Jerusalem

A female Palestinian suicide bomber blew herself up near a crowded bus stop in Jerusalem today, killing one person and wounding at least 14 others.

The explosion occurred at a busy intersection in French Hill, a Jewish neighbourhood close to the West Bank. The neighbourhood has been attacked by suicide bombers in the past.

The Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a violent group loosely linked to Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement, claimed responsibility for the attack in a phone call to The Associated Press.

Moshe Suissa of the Jerusalem fire department said the attacker tried to approach a hitchhiking post used by Israeli soldiers when a border police officer spotted her.

“He tried to stop her and she blew up,” Suissa said.

The blast destroyed the bus stop, leaving shards of glass scattered in the road as the smell of burned rubber wafted in the air.

Israeli rescue workers reported one dead and 14 wounded, at least one in serious condition.

It was the first Palestinian suicide bombing since August 31, when a pair of attackers killed 16 people in the southern city of Beersheba, and the first to strike Jerusalem since February 22.

Palestinian militants have staged more than 100 suicide bombings inside Israel during four years of fighting. Women have carried out at least eight of the attacks.

Most of the women were tied to the Al Aqsa group, although the Islamic groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad have also dispatched women.

Some counterrorism experts have speculated that the militant groups have turned to using women because they raise less suspicion among Israeli soldiers.

Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat condemned the attack, saying the Palestinians oppose all violence aimed at civilians.

He called on the United States to use its influence to bring the Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table.